Our twelve-person test team not only tested the most exciting eMTBs of the 2018 season in the cold German winter, but also took them to the south of France for two weeks (we will spare you the mandatory muddy photos at this point). We climbed to the top of peaks, rummaged through deep mud, rode over countless roots and ruts on the way up and even more on the way back down, laughed, cursed, lived through many unforgettable moments, and took the bikes – and sometimes ourselves – to the limit.
Just a few years ago, the thought of a hardtail conjured up images of Lycra®, not all-out trail ripping. Today, however, the Fuse hardtail trail bike has turned that notion on its head. It all starts with our new 6Fattie wheel system and ends with our revolutionary Diamond Stay design. And when you mix it all with low, slack geometry, you get a bike that climbs like a hardtail and inspires confidence like the best trail bikes we've ever made.

It’s probable that GM was hoping for more press for its announcement of the same day as Musk’s interview going live, that it had actually built and was going to sell a pair of electric bikes. It launched a $10,000 naming contest. The bikes were built in-house by GM, including engineers who had worked on the Bolt. The Director of General Motors Urban Mobility Solutions, Hannah Parish said:

If you are a regular bicyclist who wants to add some excitement to your rides or wants some help with those hills, a full sized electric bike is the way to go. If you are considering a bike as a means of transportation more than an outlet for amusement, then a smaller, folding electric bike is the convenient choice. In each category, consider the speed and range you want, as these factors impact price.
Electric Hybrid Bikes- As the name suggests, these bikes combine the properties of mountain and fat-tire bikes. They are built to be fast and tough at the same time. They are lighter than electric mountain bikes, so you don’t have to deal with the excess weight when going up hills. You can use the bike to carry heavy luggage or cycle through rough trails.
Our job is to make sure you enjoy your EVELO for many years to come. That’s why they are backed by a 4-year/20,000-mile warranty – double the industry average. If a problem comes up, you are just one call away from our U.S.-based customer service. Combined with our network of partner bike shops around the country for on-the-ground support, you are covered for anything a bike path can throw at you.

On the descents, the Commencal felt somewhat one-dimensional, great when up to speed, but with sluggish and less nimble handling hindering its performance in tighter, low-speed technical sections of trail. The Meta Power Race also had the shortest distance range in our head to head testing, another factor which kept this contender off the top step of the podium. That being said, this e-bike was built for charging, no pun intended, so if you're an aggressive rider who lives for eye-watering descents, then this might be the e-MTB for you. Read the full review to find out more about the Commencal Meta Power Race 650B+.

Without a doubt, Commencal has a valued reputation in the bike world. And with their newest electric mountain bike slated for release in September of 2018, this 2019 model is surely one we had to highlight while we could. Simply put, it’s one of the best options out there for the price point thanks in part to its E8000 system, lightweight body, and ergonomic feel. Additionally, a reinforced frame ensures uncompromising stiffness and accuracy while atop the saddle, Shimano XT brakes stop the large 29-inch wheels without issue, and a 12-speed SRAM Eagle transmission offers up the perfect gear in just about any off-road situation.
When all was said and done, the Commencal Meta Power Race 650B+ proved to have everyone's favorite e-bike controls. Commencal uses the Shimano Steps E8000 motor and system which features ergonomic thumb shifters, a small but easy to read digital display and a secure and straightforward charging connection. The ergonomic shifter of the Shimano system is better than the electronic buttons found on both the Specialized, HaiBike and Trek. The Commencal's best-in-the-test digital display also proved to be a favorite for its small size and out of the way mounting location, easy to read at-a-glance information, and color-coded support settings information. The HaiBike's Yamaha PW-X motor and system also featured a digital display, but testers thought it was a little too big, displayed too much information, was more challenging to read, and generally felt a little more clunky and less refined than the Shimano system. That Trek Powerfly's Bosch Purion shifter and display unit was easy to read and had a bright screen, but was in a less visible location on the left side of the handlebar. Our Editor's Choice Award winner, the Specialized Turbo Levo FSR Comp 6Fattie scored the lowest in this rating due to the lack of a handlebar mounted display and a less user-friendly charging connection.
Update: Well I've had an opportunity to take the bike on some longer trips now 10 miles back and forth a few times, and the bike performed well, so I am raising my rating to 4 stars. I got a larger seat and raised the angle of the handle bars and it is more comfortable to ride than it was, but still a bit awkward for someone of my size. I've been leaving the bike charging all the time I'm not using it and this seemed to make a big difference with the indicator light not coming on as soon, and the biggest difference is made by me riding the bike the way it was meant to be ridden, ie: pedaling, I was treating it more like a scooter and just staying on the throttle before, but if you use it as a peddle assist bike, the way it's meant to be ridden it performs quite well. The bike is not great going up hills and you still have to work but it does make hills a lot easier. It is also frustrating not having more gears, you basically just leave the bike in 6 gear all the time, and peddle when you can ie: when your slow enough you can peddle. I have no problem with the weight of the bike and it is solid and well built and it will work for my purposes, fortunately the town I live in is only about 5 miles end to end so I don't need the bike to be able to go super long distances, and fortunately I don't mind peddling some, so I don't mind the bike being a peddle assist bike and not a more scooter type. One other gripe I do have is the bike does not have the standard holes to mount a back rack to, one of the main reasons I got this bike was to carry groceries and stuff more easily, so I'm disappointed that it will be difficult for me to mount a rack to, but I'm sure a front basket would work. Anyway, 4 stars, I like it, the price is great, it's well constructed, you will have a hard time finding an electric bike of this quality at this price, but it is not without a little sacrifice.
Getting an e-bike can dramatically increase how often you ride, according to a recent survey of nearly 1,800 e-bike owners in North America. Beforehand, 55 percent of respondents said they rode daily or weekly. After buying an e-bike, that number soared to 91 percent. It makes sense: Even if you’re super fit, you still get tired (likely from training or racing) and remounting your bike can feel like a chore. If you have an e-bike, you can continue riding while giving your knackered legs a bit of a break. You can also go faster, which makes biking for longer trips more attractive, even when you’re pressed for time.
Home is the one place you can feel comfortable in your own skin. You can be yourself, invite people in, or close the door to the world. To be 'at home' on the Ruby is to shut out the negative, to truly relax into who you are. If that's someone who's into the harshest of roads? Relish in them. Or if you want the smoothest ride in the world? Welcome home.
Those are our choices for the top eMTBs this year. There are loads of great options as battery life continues to improve and motors provide more assistance than ever before. Electric bikes are primed to move heavily this year. It’s the only bike market that continues to grow every year. The more units that sell, the better the bikes become. That’s great for consumers and the bike community in general!

No day or ride is the same. Monday could be morning park laps, while Saturday might mean a day in the woods. If this is familiar, you need a bike like the CrossTrail. It has a responsive, durable aluminum frame, while our Body Geometry Fit science and a Multi-Circuit Damping fork ensure comfort over any terrain. Put it all together, and you have a bike that's just as versatile as yourself.

In a friction drive motor, a small, solid wheel rotates against the side of the tire in order to drive it. The first motorcycles used the same concept, with a motor mounted above the front wheel. The problem is that the drive rubs at the side of the tire. It's inefficient, and it quickly wears the sidewall away. Tires need to be replaced every couple hundred miles. For this reason, you'll seldom see electric bikes with this type of drive anymore.

Whether you need a bike to help you stay fit and active, or you just want something comfortable to get around town on, we have a hybrid bike that's tailor made for however and wherever you ride. Each bike represents an intuitive design that's purpose-built for the task at hand. So get out and get exercising, rolling through woods, commuting—whatever. All that we care about is that you're having the time of your life on the perfect bike.

Cargo bikes and city bikes are common in the e-bike space, but until recently we haven’t seen that many performance road bikes. The Giant Road E+1 is a pedal-assist performance road bike that’s made for more than just commuting; the powerful motor can rank you up to 28mph very quickly on the highest setting so you can rip the flats, join your local group ride, or blast through the mountains with far less effort than a traditional road bike. Don't expect it to feel like a 16lb race bike when you lean it into high-speed turns, but the endurance-oriented geometry allows for an aggressive position on the bike and keeps the it nimble and agile at high speed.
In addition to the pedal-assist feature, some e-bikes come with a throttle that engages the motor with the press of a button. These belong to a separate class of e-bike that, obviously, doesn’t offer a pure cycling experience; they’re also illegal in some municipalities. Interestingly, Benjamin says, people who aren’t already “cyclists” tend to gravitate toward throttle bikes at first, but then turn around and choose a pedal-assist for their next purchase.
On the road, it takes only a few turns of the pedals to activate the Vado’s motor and get it up to speed. In Turbo mode — the bike’s highest level of pedal-assist — the Vado reaches speeds of up to 28 miles per hour, after which the electric drive system automatically shuts off to conserve power (and abide by local law). A built-in LED readout on the handlebars allows riders to monitor battery life, check current speed, and track calories burned while also being able to glance at distance traveled. The Turbo Vado Mission Control app (iOS/Android) also connects to the bike via Bluetooth and allows riders to further tune their ride and adjust the bike’s settings.
Controllers for brushed motors: Brushed motors are also used in e-bikes but are becoming less common due to their intrinsic lower efficiency. Controllers for brushed motors however are much simpler and cheaper due to the fact they don't require hall sensor feedback and are typically designed to be open-loop controllers. Some controllers can handle multiple voltages.
Elon Musk had a good 2018, at least in retrospect. Coming out of production hell, Tesla’s Model 3 is now the #1 selling car in the USA by revenue, along with various other signifiers that Tesla is now a real, high-volume car manufacturer. Tesla itself declared a $300 million USD profit for Q3, delighting the stock market and its investors, if not the many shorters who continue to lose money and credibility.
All the models we tested are full suspension all mountain/trail bike models with relatively similar amounts of suspension travel, geometry, and wheel/tire size. The addition of a large battery and a small motor adds significant weight to an e-bike and they generally weigh in the neighborhood of 50 lbs, approximately 20 lbs heavier than non-e-bikes, and the massive weight of these bikes makes them more difficult to ride without the support of the pedal assist motor.
It’s not as far-fetched as it sounds. In Europe, where the e-bike market has exploded, the European Cycling Union announced that it will create a new racing circuit for e-bikes, including e-road and e-mountain bikes, for the 2019 season. Following suit, the UCI said it will include an electric mountain bike competition in the 2019 World Mountain Bike Championships. Yes, there will be a rainbow jersey awarded to the world’s best off-road e-biker.

What is a road bike? A machine? A tool? Or is it a continuation of the body—a paintbrush completing a picture of your true self? We believe it's more than this, as words can't describe the feeling it gives you to ride, nor can they encapsulate the dedication behind our innovative designs. It requires years in the Win Tunnel, on the road, and in the lab perfecting aero and carbon, and it's worth every drop of sweat to deliver you the perfect ride.

There are two basic categories of electric bike, and their uses don't offer equal crossover value. The first category is essentially a normal bicycle that has been outfitted with an electric motor. These bikes are the same size as a standard bicycle, and handle almost identically, save for the obvious benefit of added motive power thanks to a motor and battery.
There are individuals who claim to have lost considerable amounts of weight by using an electric bike.[62] A recent prospective cohort study however found that people using e-bikes have a higher BMI.[63] By making the biking terrain less of an issue, people who wouldn't otherwise consider biking can use the electric assistance when needed and otherwise pedal as they are able.[64] This means people of lower fitness levels or who haven't cycled in many years can start enjoying the many health benefits E-bikes have to offer. [1]